During the opening song, Jake's counselor asked if I would bear my testimony. I told him that I had a Father's Day talk from the past I could share, so I spoke instead...It is a 20 minute talk. I had several people come up and compliment after it and no one knew or was told it was last minute and recycled Bonus was my parents decided Sunday morning to come up and hear from Christopher and I. I have been blessed with phenomenal men in my life who exemplify the qualities of a father from my own dad to my husband to my sons to my bothers and to my in-laws. In my eyes, there is no one better than my Jake.
The Love of a Father
Father’s Day 2021
By: Renee’ Farrell
“We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” To many of us, even the young primary children this is a familiar sentence but how many of us have pondered the power within this statement and the relativity it has in our personal lives. President Hinckley taught; “They (speaking of Godhead) are distinct beings, but they are one in purpose and effort. They are united as one in bringing to pass the grand, divine plan for the salvation and exaltation of the children of God. In His great, moving prayer in the garden before His betrayal, Christ pleaded with His Father concerning the Apostles, whom He loved, saying: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (John 17:20–21). It is that perfect unity between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost that binds these three into the oneness of the divine Godhead.” This is the same unity that should exist between married couples and even our ward family.
Just as we have an earthly father or father figure, likewise we have an eternal father or a Heavenly Father. Today, I will briefly discuss the Godhead, to those who may be unfamiliar with the term godhead, for the purpose of my talk today it is defined as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Now, I know it is Father’s Day and no worries, I will also intertwine the assigned topis of a father’s love. The thought occurred to me that this was a most appropriate topic, a father’s love, because all that we are blessed with, we owe to our Father in Heaven and elder brother, Jesus Christ. So, doesn’t it make sense that as we celebrate fathers today, that we acknowledge our Heavenly Father as well as his unconditional love for us.
Jeffrey R. Holland states: “Our first and foremost article of faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” We believe these three divine persons constituting a single Godhead are united in purpose, in manner, in testimony, in mission. We believe Them to be filled with the same godly sense of mercy and love, justice and grace, patience, forgiveness, and redemption.” It is my intention to briefly touch on the first two members of the Godhead. It is vital to understand that the members of the Godhead are three distinct individuals with one purpose. If there is anyone in the congregation today that seeks to gain their own testimony or understanding of the Godhead, or may be struggling with their personal testimony, I urge you to pray and ask our Heavenly Father. Seek out the answers to your questions, ultimately, the Holy Ghost will provide that sacred assurance. The scriptures are full of references, I am confident the bishopric, missionaries, ward leaders, or even myself can provide references but seek the understanding from our Father. He is exactly that, our Heavenly Father and wants to help us and hear from us. He is not out of reach and awaits our visits. God is loving, merciful, and wants us to seek Him out.
I, like President Hinckley, “believe without equivocation or reservation in God, the Eternal Father. He is my Father, the Father of my spirit, and the Father of the spirits of all men. He is the great Creator, the Ruler of the Universe. He directed the creation of this earth on which we live. In His image man was created. He is personal. He is real. He is individual. He has “a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s” (D&C 130:22)…. This is the Almighty of whom I stand in awe and reverence. It is He to whom I look in fear and trembling. It is He whom I worship and unto whom I give honor and praise and glory. He is my Heavenly Father, who has invited me to come unto Him in prayer, to speak with Him, with the promised assurance that He will hear and respond.”
The second member of the Godhead is Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. He is the firstborn of the Father and the only begotten of the Father in flesh. He is an individual separate and distinct from his Father. He is our elder brother and friend. None so great has ever walked the earth. None other has made a comparable sacrifice or granted a comparable blessing. He is the Savior and the Redeemer of the world. I believe in Him. I declare His divinity without equivocation or compromise. I love Him. I speak His name in reverence and wonder. I worship Him as I worship His Father, in spirit and in truth. I thank Him and kneel before His wounded feet and hands and side, amazed at the love He offers me. President Uchtdorf stated in the 2021 Spring General Conference that “we all depend on the Savior, none of us can be saved without him. Christ’s atonement is infinite and eternal. Forgiveness from our sins comes with conditions.”
To Elder Holland’s witness, I add my own personal knowledge: “I testify that Jesus Christ is the literal, living Son of our literal, living God. This Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer who, under the guidance of the Father, was the Creator of heaven and earth and all things that in them are. I bear witness that He was born of a virgin mother, that in His lifetime He performed mighty miracles observed by legions of His disciples and by His enemies as well. I testify that He had power over death because He was divine but that He willingly subjected Himself to death for our sake because for a period of time He was also mortal. I declare that in His willing submission to death He took upon Himself the sins of the world, paying an infinite price for every sorrow and sickness, every heartache and unhappiness from Adam to the end of the world. In doing so He conquered both the grave physically and hell spiritually and set the human family free. I bear witness that He was literally resurrected from the tomb and, after ascending to His Father to complete the process of that Resurrection, He appeared, repeatedly, to hundreds of disciples in the Old World and in the New. I know He is the Holy One of Israel, the Messiah who will one day come again in final glory, to reign on earth as Lord of lords and King of kings. I know that there is no other name given under heaven whereby a man can be saved and that only by relying wholly upon His merits, mercy, and everlasting grace can we gain eternal life.
My additional testimony regarding this resplendent doctrine is that in preparation for His millennial latter-day reign, Jesus has already come, more than once, in embodied majestic glory. In the spring of 1820, a 14-year-old boy, confused by many of these very doctrines that still confuse much of Christendom, went into a grove of trees to pray. In answer to that earnest prayer offered at such a tender age, the Father and the Son appeared as embodied, glorified beings to the boy prophet Joseph Smith. That day marked the beginning of the return of the true, New Testament gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the restoration of other prophetic truths offered from Adam down to the present day.” The miraculous appearance to the boy, Joseph Smith, builds my knowledge of the divinity of the Godhead. Miracle of miracles and wonder of wonders, they are interested in us, and we are the substance of their great concern. They are available to each of us. We approach the Father through the Son. He is our intercessor at the throne of God. How marvelous it is that we may so speak to the Father in the name of the Son.”
Coming to understand the role of the first two members of the Godhead helps us become better Saints and better stewards. The scriptures are full of examples. One of the most well-known stories in the scriptures is that of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32, a story about the Father’s love that we, his children, can understand. In reviewing the story, there are three big take a ways about a father’s love.
1. The father let the son go.
It was customary in those days for the eldest son to not only receive a double portion of his father's inheritance but to be the first one to do so. It was also customary to wait until the father died or the father chose to parcel out his wealth to his children. This child didn't wait his turn or wait until the father decided to give ─ he demanded his portion right away and we see that the dad, without a word, have him his portion and let him go.
- Against wise counsel
- Without manipulation
- No strings attached
When the son was old enough to make his own decision (foolish as it was) the father let him make it ─ he loved him enough to let go. God, our Father, is like this. He lets us go too. We are free to disobey Him if we want. We can reject and abandon the Church. We can ignore all the wiles counsel of His word and promptings of His Holy Spirit and go our own way if we want to. God loves man enough to allow him to be free; loves man enough to risk rejection in order to gain true faithfulness and love in return.
2. The father waits for a return- In the parable it says that the father saw his son returning while he was still a long way off.
3. Upon return, the father celebrates and restores - What his father gave him was restoration and mercy. The father's gift showed how the son was restored:
- He greeted him with kisses, which showed him his love and affection.
- He felt compassion, which told the son that he understood his pain and the effort that it took to come back.
- He put the "best" robe, which signifies position - the long robes worn by nobles. The father restored his son back to sonship again with all of its rights and privilege
This parable teaches us many practical lessons for Fathers specifically and parents in general:
- The purpose of our work with our children is to eventually let them be what they choose to be - even when that doesn't match what we want for them.
- We can let go but we mustn't give up. We still can have influence and a relationship through prayer, through love and a willingness to monitor and encourage their progress and sympathize with their failure.
- Fathers don't say, "I told you so", they say, "I love you so". When the prodigals come home - don't make slaves out of them by trying to set 9too stringent of boundaries - make sons and daughter out of them once again
Now take a moment and reflect- What type of man are you? What type of father are you? What do you remember about your father? Was he soft and gentle or harsh and demanding? Was he there for you when you needed him, or was he always on the go and away from the home a lot of the time? Was he affectionate or did he keep his distance? Was he emotionally transparent and easy to read, or was he reserved, keeping his feelings to himself? Was he an outdoors-man or a homebody? Did he read to you when you were little and play with you as you were growing up? Did he teach you to do things? What sort of practical skills did you learn from your father? Was he a good listener? Could you share your thoughts and feelings with him without getting a lecture in return? Was he a man of faith? Did he share his faith with you and help you to experience the peace of gospel that comes from the Savior? Was he authoritative or easy going? Was he quick to discipline you and keep you in line, or did he give you freedom to explore and make your own discoveries—your own decisions— and your own mistakes?
If you’re a son, was your father someone you wanted to be like when you grew up? If you’re a daughter, was your father the type of man you hoped to marry some day? What did you love most about your father? If you had the chance, what words of gratitude and affirmation would you most like to share with him today? Fathers, men, what type of father figure are you?
Be the person they cherish. Most fathers do the very best they know how to do. So, if you’re holding on to some bitter feelings because your father hurt you or failed you in some way, now’s the time to get over it and let it go. Focus on what he did for you or tried to do. And know this: You carry his genes. Honor him by carrying them on to a higher level of excellence.
There are many men who may not have been afforded the opportunity to carry the title of father as the world views it. However, may I propose that men who work to help better the lives of others are fathers in some sort. Men who help lead and guide their church families towards exaltation are fathering those in the congregation- Men who serve as teachers, leaders, or assist in primary. I have seen my husband share moments with children, whom are not our own, that qualify for the role of a father as he mentors, prepares, teaches, and touches their lives. Men- is there a time in your life that you have stopped to help someone along the way, shared a candy bar, showed someone how to tie a tie or change a tire, listened to someone who just needed a friend, or counseled another …those are moments you have helped father others. Your influence and example alone sometimes are exactly what a person needs. Do you know of a person who may not have a father in their home, be there… you can attend some of the things (daddy/daughter things, father/son camp outs, or a ball game). Sometimes this is for adults too, be a good friend. You are preaching with your lives as much as your words.
Share story of Jake with nephews or with students or young men
When kids younger, having cousins over to celebrate New Year’s and trying to be solid example for Dilgards- taking time to have one on one conversations with Riley.
These experiences become examples of what it is to love as a father. President James E Faust taught: “Noble fatherhood gives us a glimpse of the divine attributes of our Father in Heaven. A father should be many things. He should magnify his priesthood and be an example of righteousness. In companionship with his wife, he should be the source of stability and strength for the whole family. He should be the protector and the provider and the champion of the members of his family. Much of his love for his children should flow from his example of love, concern and fidelity for their mother. By his uncompromising example he should instill character into his children.”
In our home there have been tender moments between Jake and our children. I recall times when he has counseled them, comforted them, or just held them. He shows up for them. I watch as he is teaching our son to minister to others and to see a need and meet it. In regard to tender moments in the home shared, President Holland shared: Such experiences give mortal fathers a glimpse into the feelings of Heavenly Father toward his children, although Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, “I cannot comprehend the burden it must have been for God in his heaven to witness the deep suffering and Crucifixion of his Beloved Son in such a manner.”
“His every impulse and instinct must have been to stop it, to send angels to intervene — but he did not intervene. “He endured what he saw because it was the only way that a saving, vicarious payment could be made for the sins of all his other children from Adam and Eve to the end of the world. I am eternally grateful for a perfect Father and his perfect Son, neither of whom shrank from the bitter cup nor forsook the rest of us who are imperfect, who fall short and stumble, who too often miss the mark.
“In that most burdensome moment of all human history, with blood appearing at every pore and an anguished cry upon his lips, Christ sought him whom he had always sought — his Father,” Elder Holland observed reverently. “ ‘Abba,’ He cried, ‘Papa,’ or from the lips of a younger child, ‘Daddy.’ This is such a personal moment it almost seems a sacrilege to cite it. A Son in unrelieved pain, a father his only true source of strength, both of them staying the course, making it through the night — together.”
No wonder President Benson said men should count it an honor that “the sacred title of ‘father’ is shared with the Almighty.” “Fatherhood is not a matter of station or wealth. It is a matter of desire, diligence and determination to see one’s family exalted in the celestial kingdom. If that prize is lost, nothing else really matters.”
Brothers and sisters, ideally, a father’s love is a reflection of God’s love—it’s grace-filled, merciful, forgiving, patient, kind and, most importantly, unconditional—not something you earn by doing and saying the right things, but a gift that’s given freely and will never, ever be taken away.
Today on a day set aside to remember the men in our live may we not forget the two most imperative to our salvation and the fathers of our souls, God the Father and Jesus Christ. We should all strive to emulate the love that is radiated by both. As we celebrate the men in our lives whom we love and adore, may we not forget to say a prayer of gratitude and express our love for God the Father and our Savior.
Let’s celebrate all they have done for us as well, the opportunity to live again, be eternally united with our families, enjoy a family, have life, be forgiven, and the list continues…..Fathers, men, young men, and boys pursue the things that God measures men by and be that person. Work to obtain it and seek to help each other out as we are all on the same team helping rear one another back to our Heavenly Father. Testimony and End.
